


This Dream of You

by flowerfan



Category: Glee
Genre: AU, Glee Twist Fest, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-17
Updated: 2014-01-17
Packaged: 2018-01-09 01:37:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1139905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerfan/pseuds/flowerfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the Glee Twist Fest (prompt:  what if Kurt and Mercedes got Tony and Maria?)</p>
<p>It's spring of his senior year, and Blaine has to make some hard choices.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Dream of You

“Well, we’re going to call it a night,” Burt said, pulling himself to his feet. “Don’t stay up too late, boys.” 

As soon as Burt and Carole headed up the stairs to their room, Kurt launched himself into Blaine’s lap, nearly knocking him off the couch. “God, I missed you,” he sighed, snuggling into Blaine’s neck. “I thought dinner would never end. And surely one round of Taboo was enough.”

“Burt and Carole are just happy to see you.” Blaine slid his fingers through Kurt’s hair, tracing along his hairline. He was so relieved that Kurt had been able to come home from New York for spring break. There had been all kinds of starts and stops, first with some play that was going to rehearse despite the lack of school, then problems with his work schedule at the diner. But all of that had been cleared up, and Kurt was home for a whole week. Which was a good thing, because they needed to talk.

Blaine wished he could just put it off, enjoy the evening and save the serious bits for another day. But he didn’t think he’d be able to, really, if the knot in his stomach was any indication. Plus, any minute Kurt was going to notice…

“Blaine? Is something wrong?” Kurt pulled back, looking Blaine in the eyes.

“You’re a mind reader, you know that?”

“You mean, there is something wrong?” Kurt’s voice went up, alarmed.

“No, no, nothing’s wrong, don’t worry.” Blaine took a deep breath. “But there is something I need to talk to you about.”

“Okay,” Kurt said, drawing the word out. “What’s up?”

Blaine chewed on his lip, wondering how to explain without causing a Kurt explosion. “I have a really exciting opportunity with Aurora Theater.” 

“Oh yeah? Moving up in the community theater world?” After Blaine decided not to audition for West Side Story his junior year, so he wouldn’t be competing with Kurt, and Rachel quit the show when Mercedes was cast as Maria, both Blaine and Rachel had gone out for a production of Hairspray in a local theater. Blaine’s performance as Link was well reviewed, and ever since then community theater had become a big part of his life.

“Professional, actually. Aurora Theater is associated with OSU, and they have sort of an exchange thing with the OSU theater program.”

“Blaine, what are you talking about?”

“They want me to music direct for them. As a paid internship, part time.”

Kurt’s face froze as he began to connect the dots. “When would this be, exactly?”

“Starting after graduation. And, well, continuing.”

“But you’re coming to New York, you told them that, right? You got into NYU, you’re coming to New York.” Kurt untangled himself from Blaine and stood up, his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. “Aren’t you?”

Blaine stood up too, and gently pulled one of Kurt’s hands into his own. “Please don’t freak out. I haven’t decided anything yet. I just found out about this, and I had to tell you.”

Kurt wouldn’t meet his eyes. “You can’t really be considering staying in Ohio. NYU is a fantastic school, and it’s in New York City. You’ve always wanted to go to New York.”

“I know I did. But with the money they’re giving me, OSU would be practically free. NYU is really expensive. And my parents aren’t thrilled about me majoring in music – I’m not sure how much they’re going to help out.” Blaine put a finger under Kurt’s chin and tried to tilt his head towards him, but Kurt just jerked away. “Kurt, you know how much I was looking forward to going to New York, to being with you all the time. I didn’t plan this-“

“No? But apparently you applied to OSU – they didn’t just walk into McKinley and throw money at you.” Kurt was angry now, pacing back and forth across his living room.

“They kind of did. But it was at Aurora. The head of the OSU theater program came to our production of Into the Woods and met a lot of us; apparently he talked to the Aurora staff about me.” Blaine had been awfully proud of himself when he heard how well received his work had been.

“You did do an amazing job with that show,” Kurt relented. Blaine had taken the lead on music direction for the production, as well as helping with set design. Kurt wasn’t in Ohio for the performances, but Tina had posted enough on YouTube that he was able to get a feel for it.

“Come here,” Blaine said softly, taking Kurt’s hand and pulling him back onto the couch. He finally got Kurt to meet his eyes. “This is a big deal for me, but I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I just needed to talk to my fabulous boyfriend about it.”

Kurt’s eyes filled with tears. “But there’s no way out of this, Blaine. If you go to OSU, we’ll be apart for four more years. Or more. Who’s to say what will happen.” Tears began running down his face. “I want you with me,” he sobbed sadly.

“And I want to be with you, you know I do,” Blaine replied, his throat tightening up. 

“Do you? Really?”

“Kurt, that’s not fair,” Blaine choked out. “I love you. Of course I want to be with you.”

“Then come to New York.”

\------

Later, after a teary and unsettled goodnight, Kurt closed the door behind Blaine and headed into the kitchen. He didn’t actually feel like warm milk, but he needed to do something to occupy himself, since he didn’t think sleep was really on the table. Not surprisingly, his dad soon joined him.

Burt gazed pointedly at Kurt. “Everything okay?” Kurt knew he probably looked awful; his face felt puffy and sore from crying.

“How much of that did you hear?”

“I don’t know. How much do you want me to keep pretending that my bedroom has really thick walls?” Burt shuffled over to Kurt and sat down at the table. “Want to tell me about it?”

“Blaine might not come to New York. He got a really good offer from OSU and Aurora Theater. And his parents might not pay for NYU.” Kurt sucked in a breath, trying not to cry again. “But we were just about to be together, finally.”

“That’s rough, Kurt. I’m really sorry.”

“I just don’t understand what’s so great about this Aurora place. He says it’s his dream job.” Kurt sat down next to Burt and smoothed the tablecloth in front of him. “Is it crazy to wonder if Blaine wants to be with me as much as I want to be with him?”

“What makes you think that?”

“I just thought being with me would be more important to him than anything else,” Kurt said sadly.

“Is being with him more important for you than anything else?” Burt asked.

“Of course!” 

“Then why don’t you move to Ohio?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kurt spurted out. “I have to be in New York…” Kurt sighed and banged his head down on the table. “Shit. I expect him to give up his dream for mine. Again.”

“What do you mean again?”

“It’s just like stupid West Side Story.”

Burt looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Last year when McKinley did West Side Story, I pretty much told Blaine that he should let me be Tony. So he didn’t try out, and wound up doing community theater instead.”

“You really told him not to try out?”

“Not in so many words, exactly. I didn’t realize he’d pass on the show altogether, I thought he’d just go out for Bernardo or something. But I guess he felt awkward auditioning for only certain parts, or he wanted to give me space, I don’t know what happened, just that poof – I was Tony, and Blaine wasn’t in the show.”

“Did he really want the part?”

“He must have. He would have been a great Tony.” Kurt remembered the night of the first performance, the proud expression on Blaine’s face, the bouquet of flowers. “But he was really happy for me, too. He wasn’t mad or anything.”

“Making you happy makes him happy, kid. That’s a beautiful thing. But…” Burt paused, waiting for Kurt’s attention. “You can’t ask him to give up his dreams for yours. You know that’s not going to work in the long run.”

“I know, Dad. I’m not an idiot.” Or at least, I’m trying not to be, Kurt thought. “But my dream includes Blaine, it’s not just about me. It’s both of us in New York. I thought we had the same dream. Does it make me a bad person for wanting everything to work out?”

“No, Kurt, of course it doesn’t. But he’s not a bad person for trying to make his life work out, either. And that includes not giving up on his dreams just to fulfill yours. It sounds like he’s under some financial pressure, as well. This is a complicated decision for him. Try to understand that.” Burt looked pointedly at Kurt. “Do you really think it means he loves you any less?”

“No. But I don’t like it,” Kurt pouted.

“Well, Blaine probably doesn’t like it either.”

\----

Kurt and Blaine didn’t get to see each other much for the next few days, except for Glee rehearsal one afternoon. Blaine felt awkward every time he talked to Kurt, not wanting to bring up the subject of New York again, but knowing it’s the big, scary elephant in the room. He could tell Kurt was trying to act like everything was fine, but his anxiety was showing through. He was also wearing his light blue socks again, which was never a good sign.

Tuesday morning in study hall Blaine and Sam were working on a history project when Sam called him on it. “Okay, spill. Kurt’s here and yet you still look like someone stole your puppy. What’s going on?”

“I got a financial package from OSU, and Aurora wants me to music direct. And I told Kurt.”

“Yeah? That’s awesome! He must be so happy for you.” Sam bounced and gave Blaine a punch on the shoulder.

Blaine shrugged. “Not really. We were going to be in New York together, and now…”

“Oh. You’re right.” Sam deflated. “That kind of sucks.” Sam bit his lip, thinking. “Does Kurt understand how much this means to you? I mean, this is pretty much what you’ve been working on all year.”

Working with community theater had really given Blaine a place where he felt at home, where his talents were appreciated. Since he had decided not to try out for West Side Story the previous year, he had a lot of time after school to explore different performance options in and around Lima. Kurt had been busy with West Side, and then he was concentrating on applying to NYADA; after he got in, there were NYADA mixers, extra vocal lessons, and a variety of things keeping him busy. So Blaine just got more involved in the community theater scene. Kurt left for New York right after graduation, to spend the summer taking a NYADA prep course and getting acclimated to the city, so Blaine had thrown himself into community theater completely, performing in some shows, and getting experience behind the scenes in others. He loved helping a show come to life through its music, and using his imagination to create a new spin on an old favorite. The opportunity to be the music director at Aurora was perfect for him.

“I think he doesn’t really understand, but that’s not his fault. It’s something I did for me. He wasn’t here for a lot of it.” Blaine sighed. “Mostly he’s just sad, I think. I’m sad too.”

Sam gave Blaine a sympathetic look and a pat on the knee. “Don’t be sad, dude. You’ll think of something. You always do.”

\----  
Kurt showed up at Blaine’s house the next night with a single red rose and a smile on his face. “Hey, gorgeous, what’s a nice guy like you doing at a place like this?” Kurt bumped his hip against Blaine’s as they walked out to his car.

“You’re feeling frisky tonight,” Blaine commented, grinning.

“We’re not going to think about anything serious tonight,” Kurt explained. “We’re going to go out and just have fun, no worries, just enjoy ourselves. Next year is far away, we don’t have to stress about it every second.”

“Sounds good to me. Does this mean I don’t have to stress about Nationals or final exams either?”

“Precisely, my dear Watson.”

“I don’t think that’s how it goes…”

Later that night, as they stood outside the ice cream parlor finishing their cones, Blaine marveled at how well the evening had gone. While dinner and a movie (and ice cream) might not be the most unusual date, it really wouldn’t have mattered what they were doing, they were having such a good time together. They had both done an admirable job of not talking about the future and the choice Blaine had to make. Of course, now that Blaine realized this, he couldn’t help but bring it up.

“This isn’t over,” he blurted out, interrupting Kurt’s description of Santana’s new girlfriend.

“What? Of course we’re not over.” Kurt looked panicked. “What are you talking about?” 

“No, no, no, I didn’t mean us, of course not us. I meant I’m not done trying to figure this out.”

Kurt grimaced and sighed. “I know you mean well, Blaine, but I just don’t see what’s left to figure out.” He took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Despite what Sam might think, you’re not a superhero – you can’t be in two places at once.” 

Blaine didn’t have an answer yet, but he wasn’t ready to give up. “You had honors math last year, right?” Blaine waited until Kurt nodded, then went on. “You know how Ms. Lee assigns those challenge problems, the ones that you have to think about until your brain aches, and then think about some more, until sometimes something just pops out?”

“Yeah, I called those ‘ask Mike Chang problems.’” Kurt smirked. “Do you actually do those?”

“Um, yes?”

“Huh. Wonder if Tina calls them ‘ask Blaine Anderson problems…’”

“Kurt!” Blaine giggled and grabbed Kurt’s hand, swinging it between them as they headed towards the car. “Anyway, that’s what this is like. The solution isn’t clear right now, but I’m not done working on it. So just bear with me.”

“Everything’s going to turn out okay in the end?”

“Exactly.”

\----  
The next day after Blaine was done at school he met Kurt at the Lima Bean. They settled in their favorite table near the back. Blaine didn’t even realize his foot was tapping against the floor until Kurt stilled it with his own.

“Blaine?”

Okay, he thought. Here goes. “I talked to the director at Aurora. They’re willing to employ me full time in the music director position.”

“How does that help?” Kurt’s mouth was tight. He methodically shifted several sugar packets back and forth in front of him on the table.

“Kurt. Just listen, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll accept at NYU, but defer for a year. I’ll work at Aurora full time, save as much money as I can, and then come to New York. We’d still be apart for another year, but I’d get to try out my dream job, get some really good experience, and have a better chance of graduating from NYU without monstrous amounts of debt.”

Kurt didn’t say anything for a minute, but Blaine could see that he was taking deep breaths, stilling his fingers on the table.

“Kurt?” Blaine asked softly, reaching over to take his hand. “What do you think?”

“You won’t give up your dream for me? And you’ll still come to New York?” Kurt looked up at Blaine, his eyes wide.

“Just a year later.”

Another pause. “You still start right after graduation?”

“Yup.”

A shy smile spread across Kurt’s face. “Isabelle said I could work for Vogue.com remotely over the summer. I could come home in May when I’m done with school, and stay with you until I have to go back in August.”

“Yeah? You already asked her?”

“Yesterday.” Kurt beamed proudly. “You’re not the only one trying to solve this problem.”

Blaine leaned in and gave Kurt a quick kiss, smiling broadly. He pulled back and fixed his eyes on Kurt’s, which were sparkling with happiness and relief. “Kurt?” Blaine asked. “You know you’re my dream too, don’t you?”

“Your teenage dream?”

“And every other kind.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Bob Dylan's This Dream of You.


End file.
